I was walking through Ross and I saw this Desert Santa Maria bedspread for $35. I walked past it at first and then did a U-turn, went back and put it in my cart. I really love my all white, tranquil bedroom, but for such a steal I had to give it a try.

What’s the difference between and bedspread and a duvet and a comforter? I had to google it to make sure I was using the right term in this little article. Turns out:

• A bedspread is usually thin and quilted and used as the top blanket.
• A comforter is filled with batting or down, made for warmth.
• A duvet is a fabric bag or cover for a comforter to go inside.

So with this information, I’m going to go ahead and use “bedspread” if that works for you. By having a super neutral bedroom I’m realizing that I can change the “bedspread” easily, maybe even seasonally if I want to. That makes me happier than it should.

I bought new nightstands a few months ago, styled here by my mom! They’re Sarah double-wide nightstands from World Market. Nightstands are such a racket. These were listed for $199, so I kept my eye on them until they went down to $119 with free shipping. They’re a tobacco blue, which is hard to see in my pictures. I wasn’t sure that was the color I wanted, but there are not many affordable wide nightstands out there, so I went with it. Fortunately the blue is subtle and adds dimension. It’s a win!

I also love the shelf underneath for books. I’m always reading a few books simultaneously — but at a glacial pace — so there’s always a weird pile of propped open books happening beside my bed (which my mom made look much nicer).

I tend to read non-fiction, explain-the-world-to-me books. That’s a new category. Nighttime can be a trap for anxiety and overthinking. I don’t do it every night, but I like to go to sleep thinking of something profound rather than my usual nonsense.

Here are a few of those books that you’re never really done reading. You can go back to them over and over again. They’re just a few of my favorites right now:

Jesus Calling

A short daily devotional, written by Sarah Young, as if Jesus himself were speaking to you. It speaks uncannily to everyday stresses and makes it seem as if were written just for you, just for that particular day. This is an excerpt from today’s devotional.

Do not be afraid to be different from other people. The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world.”

Prayer: Does it Make a Difference?

Prayer, it seems, is a mystery to all of us. Philip Yancey takes a journalistic approach to investigating this powerful tool and weapon. He explores questions like: Is God listening? If God knows everything, what’s the point of prayer? Why do answers to prayer seem so inconsistent? And by the way, this is the first book in which I’ve ever looked forward to footnotes!

Some see God’s omniscience as a disincentive to prayer: Why pray if God already knows? In contrast, Jesus treated God’s knowledge not as a deterrent but as a positive motivation to pray. We do not have to work to gain God’s attention through long words and ostentatious displays. We don’t have to convince God of our sincerity or our needs. We already have the Father’s ear, as it were. God knows everything about us and still listens. We can get straight to the point.”

The Power of the Praying Wife

Stomie Omartian’s book is life-changing if you’re not accustomed to regularly praying for your husband. I was startlingly blind to this area of my prayer life. What she says in this book, you will never hear from the world.

A wife’s prayers for her husband have a far greater effect on him than anyone else’s, even his mother’s. … They are a team, one unit, unified in spirit. The strength of a man and wife joined together in God’s sight is far greater than the sum of the strengths of each of the two individuals. That’s because the Holy Spirit unites them and gives them added power to their prayers.”

Heaven

I first bought this book when my best friend’s husband went to heaven. Ashby wanted to know what he was doing, what it was like where is was. Through her experience, I too am fascinated with heaven. Please read in a very un-suicidal way: I can’t wait to go there!

Randy Alcorn has dedicated his life to studying what the scripture has to say about heaven, and what he has done in this book is remarkable. Will we have bodies? What will our relationships be like? Will there be animals? What will we do in heaven? (Hint: We won’t be sitting on clouds, playing harps all day. There is adventure to be had!)

The present Heaven is normally invisible to those living on Earth. For those who have trouble accepting the reality of an unseen realm, consider the perspective of cutting-edge researchers who embrace string theory. Scientists at Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, among others, postulate that there are ten unobservable dimensions and likely an infinite number of imperceptible universes. If this is what leading scientists believe, why should anyone feel self-conscious about believing in one unobservable dimension, a realm containing angels and Heaven and Hell?

There I go, this was supposed to be about a bedroom and I’ve turned it into a book review! I guess I can’t separate bed and books. Do you have any of these never-done-reading books? What are your favorites?

We put this couch in the master bedroom because there was really no place else for it to go when we moved in. Marcello thought it was a silly place to put a couch. Shows what he knows! He and and I sit there most nights and watch TV.

Several months ago I took the Roku from the TV in the living room and put it in our room. Now the boys only watch DVDs. It’s a post for another time, but basically some things were popping up I didn’t want them to watch and they started learning how to use the remote. Anyway, now this cozy little corner has turned into our own little evening oasis — with no kids or kid stuff! We can’t even hear them wrestling and carrying on, not going to sleep. Score.

What’s going on behind my lamp that as of last week doesn’t work. I can’t even remember who broke this one. Probably for the best.

P.S. (Because this needs to be longer.) I used a little trick with thumb tacks to keep the lamp cord from hanging down the back of the table.

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